Foreman brothers choose Longhorns

Throughout all the twists and turns in their recruitment, one thing was certain: Texas City (Texas) standouts Armanti Foreman and D'Onta Foreman dreamed of playing college football together.

That’s was the plan, and they stuck to it. The Foreman brothers committed to Texas on Thursday night.

Armanti, an ESPN 300 wide receiver, chose the Longhorns over Texas A&M. As expected, brother and three-star running back D'Onta joined him in pledging to Texas after finally receiving his offer earlier this month.

Their father, Darreck Foreman, announced the brothers' decision in a press release on Thursday night after the family called Mack Brown and the Longhorns' coaching staff to make it official.

“It's wonderful,” D'Onta Foreman said. “Texas is always going to be Texas. They have a big, top-10 program and just a wonderful program. For them to offer me and for me to actually play there is wonderful. I’m really happy they offered both of us. We can really contribute in their offense.”

The brothers become the 20th and 21st members of Texas’ No. 4-ranked recruiting class. While the school they ended up picking wasn’t a surprise -- especially after UT offered D’Onta -- arriving at this decision was not easy.

Even as recently as last week, Armanti told his brother he wanted to wait, take official visits this fall and make his final decision after his senior season. He wasn’t ready to decide, and he was willing to attend a different college than his brother if necessary.

But ultimately, Armanti had a change of heart. His coaches at Texas City urged the nation’s No. 117-ranked prospect to make a decision soon, before Texas and A&M fill their receiver needs for 2014 and move on.

"It really wasn't that tough," Armanti told GigEmNation's Sam Khan Jr. "Texas was recruiting me the hardest. And then they gave my brother the opportunity that some other schools didn't so I had to jump on it."

That also meant he was risking his opportunity to play with D’Onta at Texas, and that proved too difficult to pass up. Armanti told his father on Thursday morning he was ready to make up his mind, and he assured him he wasn’t rushing this decision.

"While both of the brothers have fielded offers from near and far, being close to home at a program as reputable as Texas was a win-win situation," Darreck Foreman said. "The Foreman family would like to thank all other programs for their interest in D’Onta and Armanti. This decision was difficult, but this commitment is solid, as they are now both able to focus on personal improvements on the field and in the classroom."

D’Onta, who earned his Longhorns offer after a strong showing at Texas’ June 9 prospect camp, becomes the Longhorns’ second running back pledge, along with ESPN 300 back Donald Catalon (Houston/Eisenhower). He’s been looking forward to making his Texas pledge for more than a week.

“The biggest reason was really two things: I figured my parents can come watch me play, and they gave me what I wanted, because I want to play running back,” Foreman said. “I really feel like that was the best school to offer me. When they told me I could play close to home and play running back, that was really huge for my decision.”

His brother originally committed to Oklahoma last October but backed out of that pledge in the spring following multiple visits to Texas. Armanti received an offer from the Longhorns during a junior day visit this spring and holds more than 15 offers.

It took D’Onta more time to get noticed. He since has improved his SAT score, which was one major hurdle toward an offer, and also made a strong impression on new running backs coach Larry Porter after running a 4.48 in the 40 at camp.

The state’s No. 12-ranked running back prospect held five other offers but said staying close to home was a priority.

“I had other offers, but they were far away,” he said. “I went to Texas camp to prove I can play and I’m a great athlete like my brother.”

SPONSORED HEADLINES

Comments

You must be signed in to post a comment

Need an account?

Already have an account?

You are fully responsible for the content you post. Content that includes profanity, personal attacks or antisocial behavior (such as "spamming" or "trolling"), or other inappropriate content or material will be removed. We reserve the right to block any user who violates our terms of use, including removing all content posted by that user.

Loyal Texas Fans To Get Ticket Priority

University of Texas senior associate athletic director Nick Voinis explains the loyalty points system that will reward prior donors and ticket purchasers with priority access for tickets to in-demand games.

VIDEO PLAYLIST

Loyal Texas Fans To Get Ticket Priority

University of Texas senior associate athletic director Nick Voinis explains the loyalty points system that will reward prior donors and ticket purchasers with priority access for tickets to in-demand games.